Chapter 173: There’s another woman?
The matter of being framed and betrayed by a traitor was a topic that Leon had seldom mentioned.Rosvitha could probably guess why he didn’t want to bring it up.
Firstly,after years of campaigning on the battlefield and earning countless merits,to ultimately be harmed by despicable individuals was a tremendous disgrace for someone hailed as a hero by the Empire and its people.
Secondly,the person who framed him was likely one of his comrades-in-arms,those who had fought alongside him through thick and thin.If it were someone else,Leon wouldn’t have been so distressed,but the fact that someone who fought side by side with him could sneakily harm him during battle could only mean it was someone from his own squad.
Three years had passed since then,and it was time to delve into this matter properly.When Rosvitha asked,Leon fell silent at first.He lowered his head,scratched his temple,seemingly willing to discuss the matter,yet unsure where to begin.
Seeing his hesitation,Rosvitha took the initiative and said,”Then let’s start by talking about what happened that day.Before you were framed,what were you and your teammates doing?”
Leon stared at the tips of his shoes,his pupils gradually losing focus as his thoughts drifted back to the day three years ago when they attacked the Silver Dragon Sanctuary.
As he reminisced,he began to speak softly,“That day,our army had already broken through the outer defenses of the sanctuary.All we needed was to storm through the main gate,and we could…uh…”
He pursed his lips,glanced at Rosvitha beside him,then continued,”We could see you.”
Rosvitha rested her chin on her hand,her beautiful eyes fixed on Leon,listening attentively.
The dog-man’s words were rather tactful,”We could see you.”
After seeing me,what then?Would everyone sit down together and have tea,chat?She shook her head,not dwelling too much on wild thoughts,nodding,”Hmm,and then?”
“Well…as you know,our human side’s strategy to defeat the dragon race mostly relies on overwhelming numbers,so after breaking through the outer perimeter,I deployed a large portion of our forces to attack the main gate of your temple.”
“Of course,this was just a feint.The real elite Dragon Slayer teams,numbering in the hundreds,launched surprise attacks from both flanks.When the defending forces of your Silver Dragons concentrated at the main gate,it was the perfect moment to open up breakthroughs on both sides.”
“The battle unfolded exactly as I had anticipated,the feint worked,and the flanking attacks went smoothly.”
“According to the plan,this should have been the time for a Dragon King-level opponent to make their grand appearance,and I was prepared to fight you to the death.”
Rosvitha blinked,understanding that Leon’s tactic at the time was the classic”N protect one.”Send him,the dragon king bomb,into the temple,and the mission of the others would be accomplished.
Next,they only needed to watch General Leon’s classic Dragon Slayer performance.
“But…just as my squad and I were about to step into the courtyard of the temple,my vision was instantly plunged into darkness.”
“Darkness?”Rosvitha furrowed her brows slightly,”Was it an illusion magic?”
“From the sensation at the time,it indeed seemed to be a very powerful illusion of magic.And such powerful illusion magic must require the caster to be very close and for the target to be completely unguarded against the caster.But at that moment,there wasn’t a single Silver Dragon around me.”
Rosvitha’s eyes flickered,understanding the meaning behind Leon’s words.
The person capable of ensnaring someone as formidable as him in such a powerful illusion could only be the most trusted teammate by his side.
Leon continued,”I didn’t have time to think,I quickly used every possible means to break free from the illusion.But it was at that moment…”
Leon raised his hand,clutching his chest,his tone becoming more somber,”The one who framed me made their move.They didn’t use a sword or a dagger,but something thin and sharp,with a piercing enchantment.Otherwise,it could never have penetrated the black gold war chariot’s breastplate.”
“My heart was pierced,strangely,only the skin and muscles of my chest felt pain,the heart itself didn’t have a strong sensation.”
At this point,Leon shook his head,bitterly smiling twice,”But that’s just a normal physiological phenomenon.I knew what had happened,and I knew that when the heart was pierced,everything was over.”
“From being ensnared in the illusion to being ambushed,the entire process took less than two seconds.And at that moment,there were no Silver Dragons within a hundred meters around me.”
“When I woke up,all the positions of the raiding teams had been exposed,and you immediately adjusted tactics to systematically dismantle us.”
“I was unable to continue commanding at that point,so according to protocol,my deputy took over command and ordered everyone to retreat.”
“My teammates dragged me,barely alive,inch by inch towards the exit of the temple.But we were too slow.After all our positions were exposed,your counterattack was very effective and swift.If they wanted to survive,they had to leave me behind.”
“At that time,my consciousness was already very blurry.I couldn’t hear what they were saying clearly.There seemed to have been a brief argument,but in the end…I still became your prisoner.”
“That’s probably…how it went.”
Leon covered his face with both hands,heaving a heavy sigh.
After listening to Leon’s account,Rosvitha remained silent.From Leon’s description,it was clear that he had indeed been betrayed by his own teammates.
Elements like illusion magic,enchanted weapons,exposure of positions,and the final display of’comradeship’indicated that this was a meticulously planned betrayal.The person who betrayed Leon had prepared sufficiently for that moment.
After the successful betrayal,he left no trace behind.Not only did the human side fail to discover him,but even the Silver Dragon side after the battle didn’t know which top assassin had taken out their AD father,leading to the overturning of their previously unbeatable’N protect one’tactic.
But one somewhat amusing aspect was that since the traitor had directly aimed for Leon’s heart at the time,it was clear they intended to kill him outright,with no intention of letting him live.
Unfortunately,not only was Leon alive and well now,but he had also become the fake husband of the Silver Dragon Queen.He even had three lovely daughters.If the traitor knew about this,they would probably be beside themselves with frustration.
After a moment of silence,Rosvitha asked,”Do you have any thoughts on who the traitor might be?Any guesses?”
Leon gazed ahead,shaking his head.”From a rational perspective,everyone is a suspect in the entire ordeal.But from an emotional standpoint…I don’t believe any of them could do such a thing.”
Balancing both reason and emotion,he didn’t let his anger over his betrayal by former teammates cloud his judgment or forget the bonds forged in life-and-death situations,refraining from jumping to conclusions and accusing anyone outright.
Leon had managed to control his emotions and rationality very well.If it were someone else,they probably wouldn’t be able to handle it to the extent he did.
Rosvitha thought for a moment,then glanced at him,”You just said,three teammates?”
“Ah.”
“Then let’s talk about them,just a simple chat.”
Leon scratched his head,thinking,well,since we’ve already said so much,a bit more won’t hurt.
“Um…one is the deputy squad leader,one is a support mage,and one is a gunner.Let’s start with the deputy squad leader,”Leon said,”That guy is a perpetual runner-up.”
Rosvitha was taken aback,”Perpetual runner-up?Is that…an insult?”
Leon shrugged,”I often win championships,so guess who’s the runner-up?”
“Oh~I see,go on.”
“Like me,he came from the commoner class before joining the Dragon Slayer Army,with no connections or background,relying solely on his own abilities to climb to the position of deputy squad leader.Oh,he also took over command as my deputy at that time.Quite a capable guy.”
Pausing for a moment,Leon added,”But not as capable as me.”
Rosvitha chuckled and nudged Leon’s shoulder,”You never miss a chance to praise yourself,do you?”
After a heavy topic,a little joke was needed to lighten the mood.
Leon chuckled as well and then continued,”The second one is a support mage,and he comes from a prestigious background.He’s the son of a minister in the imperial court.It’s said that he specifically requested to join my squad after graduation,claiming to admire me greatly and aspiring to become a dragon slayer like me in the future.”
Rosvitha smirked,”He’s just a little fanboy then.And what about the last one,the gunner?”
“Oh,her,she’s a particularly chatty girl—”
The Queen became alert,”Wait,a girl?”
Leon hesitated,”Y-yes…what’s wrong?”
“Casmode,in your monotonous life with your donkey companion,finally,there appears a second girl your age,aside from the silver-haired female classmate.”
Leon blinked.At first glance,it seemed like she was teasing him about being solo for twenty years.But the more he thought about it,the more he could smell…jealousy?
“What does this girl look like?”Rosvitha asked.
Leon’s mind stirred slightly,and some mischievous thoughts bubbled up inside him.”She’s beautiful,very beautiful.”
In reality,the girl was average-looking in Leon’s eyes,but she did have a lot of suitors.Leon’s assessment of her was,”You’d be better off chasing my donkey;at least it can give you a couple of brays.”
Upon hearing Leon’s highly praised evaluation of the female gunner,Rosvitha’s eyes widened,and she secretly gritted her teeth.But she pretended not to care on the surface.
“Really?Well,that’s great.Having a pretty girl in the team,fighting while enjoying the view of a beauty,must be delightful,huh?”
Leon didn’t answer that question but instead asked,”Tsk tsk tsk,Mother Dragon,is this beer expired?”
“Expired?No,it’s not.”
“Then why does it smell sour?”
Crack—
The beer can in Rosvitha’s hand was instantly crushed,emitting a crisp sound.
Leon glanced down at the flattened can in her hand.This was getting heated.
No,he couldn’t provoke her anymore.If Mother Dragon got angry and drank alcohol,she might come up with a new way to play with dragon patterns,and he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that.
Immediately,Leon said,”Just kidding,just kidding.She looks pretty average,at least I think so.”
“Oh,really…”
“Yeah…anyway,from her hair color to her height and personality,she’s just not my type.”
“What’s your type then?”
“Hey,aren’t you supposed to know all that about me from my XP?Why are you still asking as if you don’t know?”
Leon calculated how to skip over this topic,but Rosvitha leaned in.She was still a bit drunk,her cheeks looking flushed.
“Come on,tell me,what type do you like?”she insisted.
“I like…I like silver—”
“Can’t you…just…say it…in one breath?”
As she spoke,Rosvitha suddenly felt a rush of alcohol to her head.The room started spinning,and she lost control of her body,eventually falling sideways into Leon’s lap.
Leon blinked,cautiously reaching out to poke Rosvitha’s cheek.”Hey,Rosvitha,hey?”
“Mmm…”
The response he got was a muffled murmur.
“You fell asleep quickly,Mother Dragon.”
Having just given birth not too long ago and with her stamina not fully recovered,it wasn’t surprising that she suddenly fell asleep after drinking so much tonight.
She leaned against him,lying on her side,quickly drifting off into a deep sleep.
The faint scent of her body mixed with a hint of alcohol wafted over,along with her warm body temperature.
Her soft chest lightly pressed against Leon’s thigh,causing his thoughts to wander uncontrollably.
Blushing,Leon quickly took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
After calming down a bit,he lifted Rosvitha,who was asleep,and carried her into the temple,stepping on the stairs.
Why do I get the feeling that Number two was resentful and envious, the Gunner was spurned and jealous, and the Mage was sent by the Minister to stoke their feelings to help him betray Leon to further some High-Ranking plot.